Elicitation was an efficient method for enhancing taxol production in asynchronous cultures of Taxus chinensis cells but high production of taxol was unstable in 250 ml Erlenmeyer flask and a 10 1 working volume stirred bioreactor. This situation could be remedied using two synchronization methods, double phosphate starvation and low temperature treatment. Low temperature treatment could not only maintain stable high taxol production, but also further enhance taxol production compared with elicited asynchronous cultures. This resulted in the greatest taxol production of 27 mg l(-1), being about 2 and I I times higher than in asynchronous cultures and in elicited asynchronous cultures, respectively. Taxol production in a stirred bioreactor was less than in flasks, but changes of taxol production in asynchronous cultures and synchronous cultures in a stirred bioreactor were similar to those in 250 ml flask. Therefore, high stable taxol production in elicited synchronous cultures of T chinensis cells was amenable to scaleup. The possible relationship between stable production of taxol and cell cycle phase is discussed. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.